Cerulean
by Lunas13
Summary: The story follows a girl named Rori; a seemingly normal girl. But ever since an incident that occurred when she was fourteen her life has never been the same. One night the Moon proves to have a stronger call than ever before and when she comes to her senses she is in a strange land. Can she get home? Will she even want to when she discovers what she could have there? Elladan X OC
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **

**This is something I wanted to try and so I am. This is an Elladan x OC crossover. Elladan is the twin brother of Elrohir and son to Elrond and older brother to Arwen. Rikki, Emma, and Cleo will not be making an appearance in this story so don't expect it. Also I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any story.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Lord of the Rings or H2O. This is not being done for any sort of profit only for fun. The only thing I own is my OCs and the idea of this fanfiction. Any works or music mentioned in this fanfiction does not belong to me and never will. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story.**

_Chapter 1 - The Moon's Light_

"Carry on my wayward son! There'll be peace when you are done, lay your wary head to rest… Don't you cry no more!" Then the instrumental part played loudly as my head shot up from my pillow. I quickly tried to untangle myself from my blanket as I reached across the night stand trying to grab my phone and turn off the alarm but it continued.

"Ahhhhh… Once I rose above the noise and the confusion, just to get a glimpse behind this illusion. I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high. Though my eyes could see I was still a blind man. Though my mind could think I still was a mad man. I hear the voices when I'm dreaming. I can hear them say!" I hit the off button on my phone and was satisfied to hear silence fill the moon. However gravity decided to rear its ugly head and I felt my upper body start to tilt downwards off the edge of the bed. With a yelp I tried to yank myself back by using the blanket tangled around my legs and hips but only succeeded in bringing the fabric down with me as I hit the ground with a thud.

"Rori. I'm making breakfast and you-" My mother stopped speaking when she opened the door and saw my torso barely off the ground as I caught myself so I didn't slam my head into the wood flooring. My back was bent as if I was doing a lower back curl from off the bed. My legs dangled off the edge of the mattress as the blanket fell down on top of me and I saw a smile come to my mom's face.

"Oh good, you're already up. See you at breakfast. Get dressed." She chirped happily and shut the door leaving me on my own to get out of the uncomfortable position. I groaned and let the rest of my body fall off the bed and landed on my stomach with a lighter thud that before. I pushed myself off the floor and got dressed in a red tank top, a while short sleeved sheer shirt with an outline of a wolf's face on it. I put on black shorts and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. My dad was sitting at the table nursing a cup of coffee while he waited for my mom to finish cooking. They were a rather odd couple. My father was very business man looking; dark hair slicked back, unwrinkled grey button up shirt, and dark blue trousers. My mom on the other hand had her caramel colored hair tied into a messy bun, she wore a black tank top and a knee length orange wrap tied around her waist as a skirt. It had the pattern of a growing plant on it in black and green.

I was a fine mix of the two. I had dark brown hair like my father but I have the face structure of my mother not to mention her dark green eyes. My skin was actually olive colored despite the time I spent at the beach and in the water. I didn't dress lazily like my mom, but not nearly as well as my father tended to dress. It was a nice mix of effort but without wearing high heels, dresses, doing my hair every morning. I wore minimum make up; my eye lashes were rather long already and I cleaned my face a lot so I didn't break out a lot. Regardless I had a tube of foundation just in case I got an embarrassing pimple.

"Morning Sweet Pea." My dad said looking at me through his glasses; I must say that I am relieved I got my mom's eye sight and not his. I grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and poured myself a glass of tropical flavored juice and sat down across from him at the table. Plates were already laid out and I assumed my mom was going to sit next to dad, so I settled with sitting next to mom and across from dad at the four seater square table.

"Morning daddy." I yawned then sipped on my juice. Wishing that it wasn't seven in the morning and instead of being awake I could still be asleep.

"Heard quite the commotion this morning did you fall of the bed or…." He only started speak; purposely not finishing his thought out loud and waiting for me to fill in the blanks on my own. It didn't take any amount of thinking on my part. It had impacted so much of our lives that I didn't even miss a beat before responding.

"There was no water involved." I answered as mom brought over a hot pan with eggs and set it on an oven mat. Next she brought over a plate of bacon, sausage, and a bowl of fruit and set it on the table in a similar matter.

"Thanks Mama." I said, while my father said 'Thank you Dione' at the same time. My mom just smiled; probably proud of herself for putting together a nice breakfast and receiving praise for it. It wasn't a normal thing, not that we didn't have breakfast but usually it was a lot simpler: toast, cereal, or maybe a pop tart but today was different. Dad had gotten a huge promotion at the business he worked in. The difference was huge. It may not have seemed like a very big deal, but when my father was the only working man in the family and my mom was a stay at home mom who homeschooled me that money makes a huge difference. It was fair to say we were proud of dad and happy for him. I wanted to get a job but my parents refused to allow me to do so.

It was rather annoying; I couldn't go to school, I couldn't get a job, I could rarely go anywhere alone, if I wanted to go swimming I had to twist my mom's arm in order to be allowed to go, or just go without really telling her. I was seventeen now and honestly I was still so restrained by my parent's rules it was suffocating. I couldn't bring myself to resent them for it though, because I understood why they did it. I knew that they were scared of what would happen if I was exposed to the world. Ever since that accident three years ago my parents sort of shut us off from the world and I was ready to break free.

"Rori?" I glanced up from my empty plate at my mom who had a concerned expression on face. Her brow was furrowed slightly as she looked at me with confusion and worry. I blinked and gave her an equally confused look. She merely motioned to the food.

"Are you going to eat, hun?" Mom asked me and my eyes widened. Their plates were already full and here I was sitting still so lost in my thoughts I didn't see my dad stealing all the bacon!

"Hey! Share some of that!" I cried out; not actually really mad or upset, more like a pouting child. I saw the concern leave my mom's face but there was still a slight suspicion in her eyes as my dad laughed.

"You snooze you lose sweet pea." My father declared as he bit into one of the many bacon pieces he had on his plate. I put some sausage, orange slices, strawberries, and eggs on my plate and waited for a moment of revenge to redeem myself. And it came in the form of my father picking up his cup to take a drink of his coffee. From under the table I held my hand out in a "stop" motion and concentrated on the liquid in the cup. A satisfied smirk made its way to my face when he couldn't take a drink and held the cup upside down. The coffee was frozen inside and now was a coffee Popsicle.

"Now that's not fair." My dad complained.

"It's not fair to take all the bacon from your unsuspecting daughter." I argued. He frowned at me and then preceded to throw pieces of the greasy meat at me. I laughed and ducked to avoid being hit in the face with bacon and threw a sausage at him. My mom joined in at that point, and we had a good old fashioned family food fight. I lost when my mom accidently spilled her cup of water on my lap. I hopped up and then preceded to turn to water momentarily before a long orange fish tail took the place of my legs and I fell back to the ground with a loud thud.

"Rori! You okay?! I'm so sorry sweetie!" My mom apologized and hurried over to make sure I didn't hit my head; but I waved her off. This was had become a normal occurrence ever since I fell into the Moon Pool three years ago. _I had been exploring on a little island just off the shore called Mako Island and I fell through a hole between rocks and into a cave underground which lead to the Moon Pool. My family had been camping on the island and it was midday when I fell into the cave. I cried out for my parents but it seemed like they were not close enough to hear me. So I ended up going into this pool of water when night hit; I was hungry and I didn't want to get stuck here all night too. My fourteen year old mind was scared that my parents would leave me here and I would die. So I decided to risk the sharks surrounding the island and swim my way out. But before I could go to the opening leading out of the cave under water the Moon rose above the opening in top of the cave and the moonlight hit the water I was in. The water glowed and bubbled and I found myself frozen in fear while kicking my feet to keep my head above the water. Fear racing through my veins at the sight of some water raising up towards the moon. My legs tingled and then the moon passed over the opening and the glow died down. I never swam so fast while trying to get out of there. I was shaken up. I broke the surface of the water on the outside of the island; surprisingly not gasping for air and at the time I didn't think about it. Light from a large flash light shined on me and my parents pulled me up onto a small boat they had rented. I cried and hugged my mom. My clothes were soaked and I was shaking from fear and the cold. My wet hair clung to my skin and caused my entire body to get goose-bumps. I rubbed my arms and felt soft fabric get placed around me as my mom cuddled me to her. I wouldn't know until the next morning what I became that night. And I wouldn't have known why until a much later_.

"God, I'm so sorry. That was so clumsy of me. What if we had guest over?! They could have seen and then what would we do?" I looked at my mom as she rambled and rubbed at my tail.

"Mom, I can dry it off."

"But doesn't it sting?"

"Only a little, but it's faster and it's not too bad. I'm completely fine afterwards." I explained. My mother backed off a little after that. No longer trying to dry my tail with a towel. Throughout all of this my father was silently watching. This was a bit harder on him than my mom. He never knew what to think of my new form but regardless he was protective. Dating became impossible because he never trusted a boy not to betray my secret should he ever find out. My mother became extremely protective and worried as well after I found I had become some sort of mermaid. Some parents might have pushed away their child or tried to find a way to reverse what happened. My parents came to accept it as a part of me after the first four months. Then they took me out of school, we moved to a beach property so I could easily get to the water, and they became more cautious. Honestly I knew I was lucky to have parents like them but I couldn't help but feel like I wasn't _living_ I was just _surviving_.

As I held my hand over my orange tail I slowly started to close my fingers in a claw like motion turning into a fist. I didn't have to close my hand too much though. I could feel the heat radiating off my tail as it steamed and evaporated the water that had been spelt on me. It only stung a little bit; not too much though and it was a faster way to get my legs back. As my body turned to water and back to a human form I found myself making a wish. _I want to live. To explore and have an adventure. I hate being cooped up here like a prisoner in my own home. I want to live a life._

* * *

The morning had passed rather quickly and uneventfully after that. All the joking energy in the house seemed to disappear. My father stoically went to work and my mother started cleaning up. I helped her for a while until it came time to mop or really any chore that involved touching water. She shooed me away to my room and told me to study Art History while she finished up down here then she'd come up and we'd start the lessons. I didn't argue, knowing full well that it was futile and she'd only get mad at me. I walked up the stairs and looked at the calendar on the door as I passed. Tonight was a full moon and that meant that I would have to close the curtains in every room until morning came. My nerves tingled with anticipation of the night to come. The mermaid inside me knew what was coming tonight and she was excited and ready for the full moon. I felt the whispers begging me to just peek tonight, nothing would happen.

I sat on my bed as the whispers deep in my mind continued and I picked up my Art History textbook. _No. Nothing good as ever come out of the full moon. My powers become unstable and even if I gain a new ability it is completely dangerous for the first few days. Not to mention the madness the moon inflicts on me! Completely irrational, dangerous, and over all obsessed with the Moon Pool. _I argued to the voice to silence it. It seemed to work, the part of me that wanted to see the moon was silenced but the buzzing was still there, the desire remained. My eyes scanned over the eighth chapter of the Art History book by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren. I was reading about the Early Byzantine Empire; which was basically the "New Rome". All that I was really reading about for the first pages was some architecture projects; The Hagia Sophia, San Vitale; both in East Rome which was the Byzantine area. Then the Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt which all the projects were mostly funded by the Eastern Rome Emperor, Justinian. I stopped reading about the St. Catherine Monastery when I heard my mom coming up the stairs to my room. I set the book down as she walked in.

"Hey, how's the studying going?" She asked.

"Okay I guess. A little boring but I guess I'm not much an Art History fan. Maybe when we get into more modern times I'll be more into it. Or at least Medieval times." I said from my position on the bed. My mom sighed and shook her head before sitting next to me.

"I'm sure you'll grow to appreciate it." She said brushing some hair out of my face.

"It's not that I don't appreciate it, I'm just bored and textbooks are boring to read through. Maybe if we went and saw it or if there were documentaries on it that we watched it wouldn't be so boring." I argued.

"A little reading never hurt anyone."

"I never said it did. I enjoy reading about fantasy, science fiction, or historical events that actually interest me. But this…. Why do I need to know that the San Vitale was built over the grave of a Martyr? Or the difference between pendentives and squinches?" I asked, my mom smirked and began to open her mouth but I quickly interrupted before she could be a smart ass.

"And I'm not going into architecture so the ways that a dome can be supported isn't in my field of expertise." I mumbled and my mom laughed lightly.

"Then let's take a break from all this history stuff. We can do your math session for right now and then we will do English. You can take a two hour break and come back and we will do Art History and finish the day with your singing lessons." My mother told me and I nodded. Then the lessons went something like this:

"What are the four voting methods?"

"Plurality, Plurality with Elimination, Borda Count, and Condorcet Method or also known as Pairwise Method."

"What is the difference between a simile and metaphor?"

"A simile is the comparison between something using like or as. A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things."

"Good and what about an analogy?"

"An analogy is comparing two or more objects. It implies that unlike a metaphor the two or more things are alike."

I was dismissed from the lessons for two hours where I went down to the beach and quickly jumped into the water when I saw no one was in the small area I went to. It was still the morning so most people were in school or at work. Not many people would be at the beach during this time. I felt my body change as my tail took the place of my legs. I sailed through the water gracefully below the surface. Holding my breath as I swam down to the floor in the shallower water and picked up seashells I found or lost jewelry. The fish swam around me, minding their own business and the Dolphins greeted me happily. I smiled and ran my fingers over one of the Dolphins. They were friends of mine after all these years. I named them Sara, Fae, Sam, Dean, and Chloe. I watched them swim away in search of a meal and swam in the opposite direction; I saw a few sharks on my way to the Moon Pool of Mako Island but I didn't pay much mind to them. I simply stayed out of their way and I was a faster swimmer anyways so I felt little concern. I propelled myself through the water and entered the cave and broke the surface of the water in the Moon Pool.

I swam to the edge of the pool and rested my arms on the rocky surface. The cool stone felt nice on my skin and I shivered slightly before looking up to the opening at the top. Honestly it looked like a dormant volcano from the outside. Rays of sun light lit up the cave a little and I smiled. Despite how much trouble being a mermaid caused there were cool things. Nothing compared to swimming in the ocean and getting to see all the things I get to witness. The cool powers were a plus too once I could control them and not hurt anyone. I actually grew to love the Moon Pool as time went on. It was an escape from the world and it was my secret base; not even my parents knew exactly where it was; just that it was on Mako Island.

I pulled myself out of the water. My arms had gotten strong after lifting myself out of tubs, pools, and various other places that my tail had decided to make an appearance in. I lifted myself onto the rocky surface while laying on my stomach, I then turned over onto my back and scooted myself back then pulled my tail out of the water. I held out my hand out over my tail like I did earlier this morning and soon my legs were back. I stood up and brushed dust off of my shorts and started to walk around the pool. I started to hum as I walked; admiring the rocky surface on the walls of the cave. I sat back down with my back to the wall and pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was water proof and for some reason in my mermaid form it, along with anything else I was wearing, disappears then reappears once I'm dry. I checked my phone. It was 11:30. So I had an hour left before lessons.

"I could just sit here and talk to myself… Or I could go back now and eat." I said to myself as my stomach growled. I got up and put my phone back into my pocket and stepped down into the water. It only took a few seconds before I tail look the place of my legs and I dived under. _Food it is. _I thought to myself as I propelled myself through the water. I passed by the Mako Sharks and fish in a blur. I found myself loving the water more and more as time went on. Nothing compared to the feeling of gliding through the water; it was the only time I was truly graceful too. I reached the beach and peeked my head out of the water. There were a few people at the beach. Three girls were sunbathing, a group of three boys and two girls were playing in the shallow water close to the shore, and two boys were walking along the beach holding hands. I went back under the waves and swam to a more secluded area of the beach where there were a ton of rocks and carefully pulled myself out of the water and stayed hidden while I dried myself off. Once I stood up I was covered in sand and tried to brush it off of my clothes but it was sticking from being soaked before by the water. I sighed and walked back to my house.

I walked back up to my room and had to change my clothes. I swear I heard my mom laugh when I walked in; but I chose to ignore it. I was looking through my closet trying to decide what I wanted to wear. I threw a few things on my bed before deciding on black faded skinny jeans, a cerulean blue tank top, and a white sheer quarter sleeve shirt. I walked back down stairs and started going through the fridge to find something to eat.

"You know… You're been acting off today. Maybe it's-" My mom started.

"I'm fine mom."

"Rori... Please, I know you're not and with the full moon tonight it might just be effecting you. Maybe we should close up the house early."

"It's barely past noon. I'm fine mom." I said as I pulled out a bag of hamburger. I took out some of the meat and patted them into three balls. Then I flattened it between two plates making a perfect patty. My mom cleared her throat as she opened her soda.

"I am just saying we need to be cautious."

"I know. Do whatever you want." I answered a bit annoyed. Every month was like this. I heard my mom's chair scoot back and heard her walk out of the room; followed by the sound of curtains closing in the living room. I grilled some hamburgers on the stove as I waited for her to come back in. I had finished cooking hamburgers and fries by the time she returned. She grabbed the extra burger and sat across from me.

"Who is Anthemius of Tralles?" My mom suddenly asked and I groaned slightly.

"Really? We'll doing this right now?" She didn't answer me, she just gave me a pointed look. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at her.

"He was a Geometry specialist who helped design Hagia Sophia. The second designer being a Physics specialist named Isidorus." I answered before taking a bite into my hamburger.

"Good and what does Hagia Sophia mean?" She asked, I swallowed.

"It means Holy Wisdom."

"Good, and where was the Monastery of St. Catherine built?"

"In Egypt."

"What is the San Vitale known for?"

"It's known for the Mosaic art inside the church as well as being originally built over the grave of a Martyr." I answered and over the course of lunch she kept asking me things about Art History. Like who was ruling during this time, who built what, what materials were used. Lunch passed boringly and then she lectured me about important details that I was not paying attention to when I was reading. After that we moved onto my singing lessons at two o'clock. My mom started playing piano to a familiar song and I stood next to her.

"Party girls don't get hurt; can't feel anything, when will I learn? I push it down, push it down. I'm the one "for a good time call". Phone's blowin' up, they're ringin' my doorbell. I feel the love, feel the love." I sang before getting into the chorus.

"Ooh… One, two, three. One, two, three drink. One, two, three. One, two, three drink. One, two, three. One, two, three drink. Throw 'em back, 'til I lose count." I sang and then my voice got a bit higher than it previous was.

"I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier. I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist, like it doesn't exist. I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier." I sang.

"I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes. Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cos I'm just holding on for tonight." I didn't swing this part as high as the other part, but then with the section my voice went higher again.

"Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down won't open my eyes. Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cos I'm just holding on for tonight. On for tonight. I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier." I stopped singing when I saw my father walk in and likewise my mother stopped playing.

"Welcome home!" I shouted from by the piano. He smiled and held up a bag of stuff.

"Ready to make sure that the house is thoroughly secure?" And that was how the rest of the day went. If the sun could peek through then it wasn't safe. Because then the moonlight might be able to peek through too. We taped the curtains down, locked the doors, and even moved my bed away from the window in my room. When night hit the house was silent. So far nothing happened to me but that desire to see anyways grew. I simply ignored it as I sat on the couch watching TV. My mom was making dinner and my dad was writing a report on his lap top in the other chair.

"I'm going to grab a drink." I mumbled and pushed myself off the couch. I was already bored and the moon had only been up for an hour. I was walking to the kitchen when I slipped on the rug and fell to the ground in front of the door.

"Why do we have that rug there?! All it does is trip people up." I complained and heard my father call from the living room.

"Why are you clumsy?" I rolled eyes and started to push myself off the ground when a blue hue on the floor caught my eye. I followed the bluish hue as it became more whited out on the hardwood floor. The source went out from under the front door and I felt my body move on it's on. I pushed myself up and unlocked and opened the door.

"Rori?! What are you doing?!" My mother cried but it fell on death ears. All I could see was the moon shining brightly in the sky and all I heard was a soft voice in the back of my head beckoning me home.

* * *

My body ached and I felt tense. My hand was on something prickly soft. I groaned slightly and felt something crawl over my hand. My eyes snapped open and with a scream I flung my hand around and a small spider flew off my hand and back into the grass. _Grass?_ Confusion overwhelmed me and I sat up. I was a few feet from what looked like a river. Nothing looked familiar and I felt fear swell up inside of me. Where was I? What happened? Why—_the moon_. I felt my blood run cold as the two words formed in my mind. I looked at the moon and then everything was blank afterwards. I was moon struck last night. I started to push myself off my ground but stopped instantly when I saw the sharp end of an arrow barely two inches from my face.

"Man le carel sí?" (What are you doing here?)

**Note:**

**If you are curious to what Rori's voice sounds like look by the cover Chandelier by Madilyn Bailey. She is an amazing singer and I picture Rori sounding like that. Also the cover picture for the is what Rori looks like.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note:**

**I want to thank everyone who has been reading my story, it means a lot to know that some people took the time to read it and to review as well. I'm sorry this took so long, and it's not as long as my last chapter for this story but I hope you will enjoy it none the less. Anyways, there is a random and completely unrelated question at the end. So look forward to that randomness as well. Enjoy!**

_Chapter 2 – Arrest_

I felt my chest tighten slightly, worry washed over me. I felt warm, and heat bubbled anxiously in my chest. My senses seemed to suddenly get a whole lot better; in particular my hearing and sense of smell. I could smell the grass and I could hear the sound of the water flowing by somewhere below me and off to the side. My mind was going into overdrive as I started at the metal point in front of my face. My mother and father came to mind, they had to be worried sick by now. The metal arrow shifted a bit closer to my face and I couldn't pull my eyes away from it.

"Man le carel sí?" (What are you doing here?) I didn't dare look up farther to see where the musical voice had come from. I assumed it belonged to whomever had an arrow pointed to my face. I stared at the sharp metal tip. I could tell that it was real by the shine on it from the sun; and even if I was mistaken and it wasn't real I wasn't about to risk being shot. I suddenly heard what sounded like metal being pulled out of something from behind me and my blood ran cold. The previously warm skin on my chest felt like ice and I could feel the color draining from my face. _Was there more than one person? Did they all have weapons? Was I about to be killed?_

"Man le carel sí?" (What are you doing here?) The same voice repeated himself and I swallowed back my fear and tried to find my voice.

"I… I don't know what you're saying." It came out a little quieter than I had wanted it to but when there was a sharp object pointed close to my eye I couldn't really help but sound a little weak and quiet. I hated feeling helpless and tried to think about what I could do. Burn him? Well yes but then there was another person and I certainly wasn't going to freeze and kill him or her unless I absolutely had to; besides I had no real idea on how many people were here. I wasn't one for using my powers to do more than a minor prank, the only time anyone got hurt was when I was moonstruck and I threw my dad across the living room. Without moving my head I glanced down at the river from the corner of my eye. It appeared only to be a few feet away and it probably a few feet down, I let out a shaky breath at the situation. Jump and swim?

If it was deep enough there was no possible way they could get me once I started swimming. I could out swim a speed boat, I could defiantly outswim them given the change. But there was another part of my mind that argued with the idea. I didn't know if I was surrounded by one or two people or if it was a large group. My plan would also fall through if the river wasn't deep enough. All that would do is grow a tail and become completely unable to run away; I'd be a sitting duck, or technically a fish out of water… I couldn't debate much longer though, the same musical voice spoke but it… It was behind me now.

"What are you doing here, human?" I couldn't gather what the hell that meant. The arrow was still in my face and as far as I knew the man in front of me didn't move, so who was talking behind me? Why the heck did it sound like the same person? Was cloning a thing now? Or was he throwing his voice to throw me off? But… Someone was behind me, I heard them draw a weapon just moments earlier.

"I don't know. I don't even know where _here _is. I just woke up and I was laying in the grass next to the river with bugs climbing on me." I answered with a hysteric edge to my voice, but they must have missed it or paid little mind because then they started conversing. If it weren't for the fact that it was coming from two different places I would have thought that it was one man talking to himself in some foreign language. The arrow moved a little bit away from my eye and I heard myself give a relieved sigh. I didn't move though, I didn't want the arrow back in my face or in my skull. But the fact that it retreated a little had to be a good sign, right?

"Who are you human?" One of the men asked. I felt myself getting a little sick of being called a "human" by these guys. It unsettled me a little too, did they think that they weren't humans? Honestly that freaked me out more than I cared to admit… If they were mentally unstable with weapons I could be in serious trouble, if I set them off I could die. Or I could end up seriously injuring one of them trying to defend myself and I don't know which was a worse thought; dying or being forced to murder another person. I swallowed uncomfortably before answering.

"I'm Rori." I said. I wanted to ask them what they thought they were, why they kept calling me _human _because then what were they _Martians? _It oddly reminded me of when Thor would address the "Midguardians" of Earth in the Avenger movies or any Thor related work, just a little bit scarier when it was me and he didn't sound like he was joking or confused.

"Rori, we are going to ask that you come with us." One of the men said and I frowned slightly. _Ask? More like "Rori, we are going to make you come with us. If you resist arrest you will be shot on sight._ I managed not to say out loud how I felt and slowly rose to my feet; wary of the arrow still aimed at me. When I stood up I found myself rather surprised to be only up to the man's chest. I wasn't short by any means. In fact, I was rather tall when it came to the average height of a girl my age, being 5'7. He had to have been rather tall then, and probably older too in order to be that much taller than me. Most of the guys I knew were the same height or a little bit shorter or taller than me. But never tall enough for me to feel like I was only 5'3.

"Come, we will take you to our father." I blinked and looked up at the face of the man who spoke. I swear my heart stopped for a moment and I think he could tell because he tried to hide a smile that suddenly appeared.

"F-Father? Why am I meeting him?" I asked, albeit strained from trying to remind myself to breathe in his presence. I couldn't believe that he even had this effect on me considering the situation. He had beautiful grey eyes and long dark hair. Normally I would not have liked long hair on men, but on him I couldn't find a fault with it, then there was the rest of him. He was obviously tall but also lean, yet he didn't look weak. A cloak hung from his shoulders and he wore tight clothes which was certainly a plus. My eyes traveled up his face, vaguely noting the amused expression, and stopped at his ears. They looked a little too pointy…

"He is the lord of this land. The land that you are in." I found what he said strange. Lord of the land? That would mean he owned this whole place right? And his ears… Were they a birth defect?

"Lord of the land… Where exactly am I…"

"You are just outside Imladris, or as you humans know it, Rivendell." He answered, I felt myself frown slightly. Rivendell? It sounded somewhat familiar but I honestly couldn't place it in my memory, as far as I knew it wasn't a place anywhere that I was familiar with in the states. Then again… Geography was never my strongest subject…

"And where is Imladris located?" I asked and saw a momentary look of surprise cross his features before he schooled his face back into a somewhat casual and somewhat stoic expression.

"Are you truly that lost?" The other voice said from behind me.

"I wasn't lying. I have no idea where I am." I answered as I turned around and again my heart stopped. Twins. They were freaking twins. Or maybe they were clones? Maybe they are mutants! They look the same and even have the same ears, maybe they weren't twins at all, and maybe it was a clone of the same person.

"You're not the next generation of James Madrox right?" I watched one of the two men's face twist in a slightly confused expression before he schooled his features back into place.

"Who?"

"Ah-ha, never mind." I glanced away from his face and saw that there were three other people here, and I hadn't noticed any of them until now. That really unsettled me… There was two women then an additional man; luckily they didn't appear to be clones of the two men I first saw or of each other. The man had brown hair and green eyes, he was tall and thin but his skin was slightly tanned. The two woman were also brunette but one had icy blue eyes while the other had bright brown eyes. They were both tall, but probably more my height than the others. What really startled me was their ears, they all had the same ears. That wasn't normal was it? It wasn't slightly pointed either, the entire ear was curved differently to give it that point effectively. The others must have grown tired with how long this whole thing was taking, because they started to talk to each other.

"Gwaem." (lets go.) The woman with the icy blue eyes said, sounding rather tired and perhaps a bit annoyed with the situation. They formed a bit of a circle around me and I felt the unease raise in my chest again as the tight feeling return. The pair of clones led the group while the two women walked beside me and then the last man walked behind me. We seemed to walking towards the foothills of large mountains and I felt more dread fill me. How long would we walk? What if it started raining? Maybe I should have chanced the river… But I'm glad I did not. When we were walking I saw a small very swallow stream blocking our path. I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of the water. I was wearing slippers and my feet would get wet. And then bam! Tail. The others stopped too when I stopped walking, I understood how the two women and man behind me stopped but the two leading? They couldn't have seen me stop so how did they know…

"Pada." (walk.) The women to my right said, well it sounded more like a command rather than a question. I don't know what she said so I stayed frozen in my spot looking at the water in front of me.

"Rori, we must continue onwards." One of the clones spoke up. I shook my head before vocalizing my answer.

"No." I responded, and I felt the air around me instantly tense up.

"I... I can't." I added to my previous answer before any of them could respond to me. The strange people all glanced at each other and began speaking in an unknown language. What made it worse was I knew they were talking about me. One of the clones seemed to smirk slightly and it unsettled me for some reason, it reminded me of high school boys about to get into mischief.

"Gwaem." (Lets go.) The clone to the left said and then they all started moving; the clones, the two women, and I assume the man behind me. For a moment I thought they would just leave me here but then I felt myself get lifted from behind and I screamed. None of the four people ahead of me laughed or even flinched, they kept moving forward through the shallow part of the river while I was being carried across. I pulled my feet up more so that I wouldn't have to touch the water. Once we crossed the river I was set down, and somehow I was still dry, but my heart was beating right out of my chest.

"Are you alright now, Ms. Rori?" The clone who spoke earlier, the one to the left, asked as he turned to face me. His face was mostly neutral but the very sides of his lips were tipped up slightly. I wrapped my arms around myself and glared slightly at them. I felt like I was in a nightmare, I wanted to be home. I wanted to just wake up already, I pinched my arm as I continued to hug myself but nothing. I felt incredibly awake. We stayed still for only a few moments before they ushered me to move again. I stared at the grass as we continued to walk in the direction of the mountains, the wind chilled me slightly in the pajamas I was wearing. I had on blue cotton pants and a white t-shirt with L on it holding an apple.

After a few minutes of walking in awkward silence like before I noticed the clones turn and walk between two rocks, followed by the blue eyed woman. The brown eyed one motioned for me to walk first. I looked between her and the rocks before nodding and walking past her cautiously and walking into a small almost unnoticeable space between the rocks where the other three for waiting. I felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw the town in front of me. I was numbly pulled to the side while the other two walked through the path well hidden between the rocks. I was only allowed to stand there for a minute to admire the view before I was ushered down the hills towards the town.

Vaguely I had noticed that they seemed eager to be returning home and I felt a small twinge of envy. As much as I hated how overbearing my parents would be at times I felt homesick and a bit scared. Okay. Really scared. I wanted to see my mom's carefree and a bit lazy smile, I wanted to watch my dad read the newspaper and listen to him half-heartedly tease me for being a klutz. I walked blindly while thinking of home that I nearly ran into one of the clones' back when he stopped walking, but the other one managed to stop me with a slightly raised eye brow.

"Sorry… My mind was wondering." I apologized a bit awkwardly, it sort of felt like my social skills completely dissolved since I became a mermaid a while ago and being held captive by people with weapons did not help the situation. The man's mouth twisted into a slight smile and he looked like he was about to comment when a different voice caught everyone's attention instead.

"I see that you have had an interesting patrol. Who is the young daughter of Man you brought back with you?" An older gentlemen in grey robes asked as he approached us. I felt power roll off of him and for some reason felt the need to step back. But when I looked at his face there was a certain amount of tenderness there.

"She was out near the river laying in the grass. She seems to not know where she is, we were taking her to Adar (father)." The older man nodded as he stroked his beard and looked at me.

"Sounds like the best choice when dealing with her. I think we may see good things from her, take care of her." He then walked away smoking a pipe and I felt really uneasy. _Good things from her? _What did he mean by that? I felt a bit uneasy and confused by what he said. I don't think he knows what I am, unless he saw me while Moonstruck but then he would have done something right? Well, perhaps not if he saw me after my tail had gone away if I did swim here. I continued to dwell on those thoughts as I was lead to the largest home in the small medieval looking town.

The architecture was beautiful and I noticed a bit grudgingly that the arches were supported by pendentives and the pointed arches suggested a Gothic theme in the buildings. I still was going to tell my mother that Art History was not something I needed to learn, even if I did start recognizing things from it. We walked through long halls, where there were open arches with nothing to walk out onto, probably only meant to bring light in and show the outdoors. A few turns later we were walking towards a balcony where there was a long haired man looking out towards the horizon. We were still many yards away when he turned and looked at us. He waited till we got closer before he briefly exchanged a few words with the clones. He turned his grey orbs to me and looked at me with a slight curiosity and suspicion. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably and wished I could disappear into the architecture around me. He seemed to notice my discomfort and spoke in a calm and soothing voice.

"Av-'osto." (Don't be afraid.) I glanced up at him with a slightly confused expression.

"I don't know what you're saying. Whatever language you're speaking I don't know it." I mumbled a little.

"I said, don't be afraid." The older man said. I bit my lip slightly and looked at him. I knew he was the clone's father, I mean they mentioned it before and even if they hadn't the resemblance was enough to push you into that direction. I wanted to believe him, because he truly sounded sincere when he said not to be afraid, but it seemed a little too late for that.

"I… I just want to get back home. I'm sorry, if I was on private property I honestly didn't know. If you just show me out of here I'm sure I can find my way home." He frowned slightly.

"Where are you from?" He asked, it occurred to me that while I was asked _why I was here_, no one asked _where I came from _until now. But I didn't feel comfortable giving him too much information on my home, but he might be able to help and I'm sure he'd know if I was lying. It felt like he could see right through me.

"I live in Louisana, in the United States." He raised an eyebrow at me, and seemed to just watch me for a second.

"If you speak the truth then I am afraid you may be very far from home, I don't recall ever hearing of a place with that name."

**Note:**

**Hey, I want to know something from my readers, and you can PM me or leave a review with an answer if you would like. Does it bother anyone that there is not an H20 and x-men crossover? I mean come on! They are turned into Mutants! I was debating writing a story on that, but it wouldn't be right now and honestly I don't think I know enough about the x-men to do it properly. So have any of you guys seen an H20 and X-men story?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note:**

**So I have come to realize that 1) It has been too long since I last updated, and 2) that I may have confused some readers on where Rori lives. She does not live in Australia, the moon pool where she lives is just similar to that one. Rori lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, she just has not told them that though, just that she's from a place called Lousiana.**

Chapter 3 - A Place to Stay

A rush of cold ran up my spine and flooded my face. The people here spoke English, but they didn't appear to know a thing about where I was from. At first I thought it was just Louisiana they didn't know, or maybe they knew the United States by a different name. But I had no such luck when I spoke to their leader, or the man who owned all the land here.

"America?" A shake of the head or confused look. Maybe I would try other countries. "Well what about Germany?" Still a no. "The United Kingdom?" They knew nothing of where I was from or anything related to it. I wanted to scream at myself to wake up, to just snap out of whatever nightmare this was and to wake up. They could see my distress, and I wanted to cry. I never felt more lost in my life, it was worse than the first time I fell into the moon pool. I wanted this to not be real, but the wind on my back, the aching in my limps from what I can assume was a long swim; or perhaps it was sleeping on the ground, and the headache forming was proof of the current situation. This was real, it was not a dream in a dream, it was not fake.

"Child, if you are truly so lost you may stay here." I looked up at the concerned and oddly kind eyes of the dark haired man, the one the clones had called "father". I wanted to say no, to say that I would just find a city or find my way home but I felt like there was a rock settling in my stomach. A bad feeling washed over me, as if it would be a bad choice to decline the offer. But regardless it didn't feel right to live off of someone else expense free.

"I… I can't pay you to stay, and I don't know if I ever will be able to. I… I don't even know when I will be able to find my way home. I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

"These are troubling times young one, I cannot make you stay if it is not what you wish to do. However, I could not in good conscious send someone so young out into the danger in the wilderness. I ask nothing of your stay, you would be a guest to our people."

That was where the conversation seemed to end, concrete in the resolve of the kind people here.

I was walked to a hall where they said the guest rooms were shortly after meeting with the man they called Lord Elrond. There were two women, different ones than the two brunettes that had been in the clone's company when I was taken here. The two girls also had the same trait of pointed ears, but they were… Fairer perhaps? Their skin was flawless and very pale in contrast with their black hair. The first girl wore a long flowing cotton dress, it was a pale blue color. Her hair was in a braid that fell down over her right shoulder and covered her right breast before ending just below her rip cage. The second woman also wore a dress, but hers had two layers. A light green cotton underdress with additional brown fabric over it. Her hair had two braids that started at her ears and went back into a half ponytail like braid, while the rest of her obsidian hair fell down to her lower back.

As I walked behind them in silence I could feel the moister in the air changing, as I looked out the decorative arches I saw the sky slowing showing signs of rain soon. A small gust of wind blew against my arm and I shivered. One of the women, the one in the light blue, glanced over at me. Her green eyes studying me for a moment. She offered me a smile which I hesitantly returned, I was never good in awkward social situations.

"Lord Elrond told us of your situation, Miss. If you have any questions you may approach one of us to ask for help. We can help draw you a bath and get you cleaned up if you wish." The green eyed woman said softly, the other girl nodded to confirm her agreeance on the terms.

"Um, thank you… Um…"

"I am Vanya," The woman in the green and brown dress said, then continued. "-and this is Eleniel." She motioned to the one who had been speaking to me previously.

"Thank you, you can call me Rori, you don't need to call me Miss." I was a bit quiet, my throat felt tight. It wasn't in a way that made it difficult for me to breathe, but I was on edge. I wanted to cry, I was scared too. How long could I really stay here, and what do I tell my parents? Not just that but I felt like I was some sort of freak, well more than just a merfreak. Some people discretely stared at me or tried to only glance at me a few times. While there were others that openly stared. I suppose I looked out of place. My hair felt a bit fluffy right now, I was wearing baggy blue cotton pajama pants, and a short sleeve jewel collared shirt with a drawing of an anime character on it. All the women I seen so far were wearing dresses or tight fitting pants and tunics. The men were in tunics and tight pants, or they were in formal wear, or elegant robes. Some, like the clones and the man in their company were cloaks over their shoulders as well. Then, as if reading my mind Eleniel spoke up once again.

"Miss Rori," At least it wasn't just "Miss" anymore, maybe we just need to work on informally addressing one another. "If you would like we can draw a bath and get you some proper clothing for a young lady such as yourself." I glanced down at myself. There was grass stains on my pant legs, not only that but I'm sure there was grass on my back, pants, arms, hair, and who knows what else.

"A bath would be lovely, but um, you don't need to assist me. I can bathe myself just fine."

"You will not need assistance with your hair?" Vanya asked.

"Oh no, I appreciate your kindness. But, um, I don't want to ask too much of you. I can manage on my own, if you want to just bring me a dress, or tunic, or anything really, I would appreciate it." _Not to mention that I don't need or want you to find out I grow an orange scaly tail_. I thought the last bit to myself, the two females nodded their heads thoughtfully while Eleniel studied my figure as we walked. I felt my cheeks heat up slightly before nervously tugging my shirt down a bit.

"I um, I didn't really ask but… Where are the baths? Is it a public bathing area or closed quarters? Or is there one for each floor to share?"

"There are two bath houses open to the public, a female and male bath. Lord Elrond and other nobles have their own bathing houses and as a guest to Lord Elrond himself there will be a small bathing room across the hall from your room. Normally you would share that bathing house with other female guests but there are no others here as of late. The only guests we will be expecting will be coming in a few days. Most of them sons of men and elves from other colonies."

"Alright, thank you for informing me of that. I… Wait. Did… Did you just say elves?" I felt my confusion slowly lifting up slightly as I saw identical looks of surprise. My eyes slowly drifting back towards the pointed ears of the two women.

"Yes, there will be other elves coming from the woodland forest known as Mirkwood." Other elves. That was what Vanya had said, that more were coming, which would mean… The ears, it was a sign, an ethnic one that these people were… No.

"Miss Rori?" No. It's not— it can't be. Elves? They don't exist, _similarly to how Mermaids don't exist. All fairytales, right? _I felt like my mind was slowly spiraling down into a hole, going down and ready to crash into the bottom.

"Miss Rori, you don't look well. Perhaps you should lie down." Eleniel spoke softly to my left as she opened one of the doors. I felt a light touch on my right shoulder before I was taken into the room. My mind was still running a hundred miles an hour trying to comprehend everything I just heard. There was a bit more pressure put on both of my shoulders and I felt myself get pushed down onto a seated position on the bed. My throat felt dried than ever and I struggled to form a sentence. My hands trembled in closed fists that were balling up the fabric on my legs.

"I… I um, I'm okay." I said unconvincingly. "I just, I… I was surprised that's all. I just… I need some time to myself. Please." Vanya was the first to nod while Eleniel looked me with what I would call a "distinctive worried mother" look. They quietly excused themselves before stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind them. I let out a shaky breath and buried my face in my hands for a moment. Breathe in, breathe out, in, out, in, out. Deep breaths. Breath in, hold it for a few seconds, and then slowly let it back out. My legs dangled off of the soft bed and I felt cold concrete floor under my bare feet. Slowly I felt my heart rate slowing down to a normal pace, my breathing got more relaxed, and I focused on the cold concrete my toes were grazing. I tried to think about what I just learned.

First, there were elves, and by the look of the people here as well as the way Vanya and Eleniel spoke it was like they are elves. If that is the case then there is something other than human out there, other than mermaid too. Which would mean that there are small cities, old fashioned, and albeit odd to say the least. But there are cities of elven people out in the world. People who like me are abnormal, I couldn't imagine what would happen if they were found out. But they don't seem wary of outsiders, they didn't hesitate to tell me what was out there. So why? They didn't deny being inhuman either, and they clearly thought—well I am human in a sense, but regardless they regard me of not one of them yet they invite me to stay. Free of charge none the less. Why were they so kind?

Second, while the medieval town is a bit odd, it is the least of my worries. In fact I probably would have looked at it more like a Renaissance Fair if it wasn't for the lack of knowledge about one of the continental superpowers of the world. Many of them actually. The U.K, the U.S, why didn't they know about them? Furthermore where was I? Nothing here looked even slightly familiar to me, the rivers even felt different. Although I don't recall swimming in the water I felt the power coming from it when I was carried across. The water felt powerful, it felt alive, and more than anything else it felt safe. Like home. Although that might be the fish in me talking. –tap…tap…tap— I glanced up to the tapping on the door when I heard a familiar voice.

"Miss Rori, we have the bath drawn for you and we set aside a robe for you to wear once you are finished. Are you sure you don't require our assistance?" Eleniel asked from the other side of the door, and although it was not my own room I did appreciate her not just walking in unannounced.

"Oh thank you, Eleniel. And no, I don't need assistance. But thank you." I took another breathe as I stood up from the bed I had been seated on. I glanced down at my own clothing, which were rather dirty at the moment. I quietly opened the door, careful not to startle the women on the other side, but it looked like she was already expecting me and had a smile on her face.

"Right this way." She walked me over to the bathing room and it was a decent size, larger than the bathroom I shared with my parents. She did mention Elrond was a noble, or some type of high classed man so I suppose I'm not too surprised. Well, I shouldn't be surprised anyways. The bathroom had an actual window, not an opened archway into the air unlike most of the halls and large areas of this… Castle, I suppose. The bathroom had marble flooring, and a large tub off under the window ceil, and thank goodness it was. It appeared that despite the older look to the village it had some type of plumping system.

"You need not to drain the water when you are finished. Vanya and I will deal with it." I glanced back over at Eleniel, whom was still standing in the doorway of the bathroom itself.

"Are you sure? I'm sure if you showed me how to drain the tub I could do it myself." She shook her head at my response and I decided not to argue with her on the matter.

"Alright, I will leave it to you then. Ah, um, where should I find you afterwards? I won't have anything but a robe and…" I felt my face flush a little and hers did so as well, up to the points of her ears.

"Vanya and I will be waiting in your room for you Miss Rori. You need not to seek us out. Normally some of the servants around here would empty the water every hour or so unless it is occupied. We are simply helping you settle into the room." I nodded and glanced over at the tub, ready to go test out the water once she left. Eleniel, like she had been doing since I met her, seemed to pick up on the silent que and excused herself as she shut the door to the bathroom. Which left me to my lonesome in the bathing room. I looked around and walked back over to the door to see if there was a way to lock it. Frowning when I saw that there wasn't I lifted a small section of water from the bathtub and brought it over to the door and iced over the knob so that it wouldn't open. Satisfied that no one would be able to just come in without forcing the door I walked back over to the tub and undressed myself.

Running my fingers through my hair to try and get out any leaves I quickly lowered myself into the lukewarm water. I clutched my hand in a fist like motion and heated the water a little bit as I turned to water for a split second and soon my tail was out over the edge of the tub and barely touching the ground. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, and like a ghost words brushed over my mind. _I want to live. To explore and have an adventure. I hate being cooped up here like a prisoner in my own home. I want to live a life._ My heart ached at the familiar words, the very ones that I spoke to myself as my mother tried to dry my tail after the table accident only a day prior to this. I curled myself up slightly and scooted on my tail to get enough room to dip my head under the water of the bath. My umber hair flowed around my head in the water. I wanted to think that this was a chance, maybe a wish that came true to get some distance from my parents. But it's not really what I wanted. I didn't want to escape them, I just wanted some more trust and independence. Now, well now it wouldn't happen. When I got home they would be furious at me, worried, scared, possibly even injured. I have no idea what happened when I was moonstruck, what if I hurt one of them?

If I wasn't under water I might have cried, the sheer thought that I injured my family terrified me. The fact that I couldn't control myself when the full moon hit terrified me. The way I was truly lost terrified me the most though, I was alone and I didn't know what to do. Swim back? Well I had to of gotten here from an ocean but I wouldn't know where to go, not to mention I'm not used to that type of swimming distance. Ultra speed or not it would take a long time, not to mention if someone saw me come up for air. They would likely think I was a drowning girl in need of assistance and so they would pull me from the water and I'd be exposed. Or I would swim away and be exposed by how fast I moved. There was also the issue of sleeping, I couldn't sleep under the water and floating on the surface wasn't an option. Plus if I wasn't careful I could get attacked by another sea creature, like a shark. I sighed to myself as I resurfaced from the tub and breathed in the fresh air. I needed a game plan, a way to get out of here soon. Not that they were not kind, but I needed to get home, to get to my family.

"Think Rori, there must be some clues as to where you are, just think." I mumbled to myself. I tried to recall any information I gathered over the course of the day. This was a place called Rivendell, or Imladris, as the clones had said it was called. It was in the valley under some mountains through an entrance which was hidden by said mountain. Hm… Nothing is clicking so far. Well the names are a bit odd; Eleniel, Vanya, Elrond. They also have another language that they speak, not one that I think I've heard before. Then either it was Eleniel or Vanya had mentioned another place. Marewood? No... Mirkwood? Yes that was it, Mirkwood.

"Why does it sound somewhat familiar? It's a forest right? But I don't think it's a forest in the United States. But then again if it was then they would know what the U.S was." I felt my brow furrow in slight frustration as I pondered the forest, well they had called it a "woodland realm" but that meant forest didn't it? Or was it a village made completely of wood? Well, most places are made of wood so it wouldn't be that odd. Frowning I looked at the water and moved my hand to lift it up and carefully run it over my tail to wash that too. It felt nice on the scales.

"If it weren't for the moon last night I probably wouldn't be here. If it weren't for that accident a few years ago I wouldn't be in this mess at all." I let out a light sigh and ran my fingers through my wet hair. It felt soft, silky still from when I washed it the day before. I leaned back and stretched my arms over my head as I tried to think of the guests that were coming soon. _If there are women coming too then I will likely have to share this bathroom with them. Not that I mind sharing but it will make bathing a bit more dangerous. If someone were to see me… Well inhuman or not I don't want to risk it. While they may not be entirely normal it doesn't mean they openly accept other abnormal creatures too._ I frowned to myself and looked around, there was no clock to determine how long I had been in here for and I didn't want to keep Vanya and Eleniel locked up in my room forever while I was in here.

I steadied myself in the tub and put my hands on either side of the smooth surface. With a push up I managed to push myself from the tub and onto the hard floor. The thud was a bit louder than I thought it would be and I flinched from the noise and the slight ache in my arm from landing on it. I barely was on the floor for ten seconds when there was a pounding on the door, –bang! Bang! Bang— I jumped slightly in surprise and quickly turned myself over onto my back.

"Miss Rori! What is going on in there? Did you slip? Are you alright?" A concerned voice of Eleniel sounded from the otherside.

"Yea, I slipped, but I'm perfectly fine! No need to worry, happens all the time!" I called out and hoped they would go away.

"You sound like you're still on the floor." Vanya's voice also came from behind the door, although I was a bit confused. How could she know I was on the floor? "We are coming in." The color drained from every inch of my body as I hurried to try and dry myself. With my hand over my tail forming a fist slowly in order to not injure myself, I heard them trying to open the door. Luckily the ice was holding against them.

"No you really don't need to. I am fine. I'm also naked." I quickly added the last bit and the struggle with the door ended a bit.

"Miss Rori, I suggest you dress yourself, we need to go get someone to get this door open. We can't leave you trapped in there." Eleniel said worriedly and my eyes widened. I began to dry my tail faster, it slightly sizzled and stung a little.

"What is that sound? Are you alright in there?" Vanya asked from behind the door. Just as my tail finished drying and I hurried to my feet, grabbing the robe and throwing it over myself.

"I don't hear anything. Move back from the door!" I called out as I slowly melted the ice. "I'm going to try and see if I can get it open on my side. Maybe it's just a little stuck. Eleniel does not need to go get anyone." I said as I made my way to the door, about to play with the knob to make it seem like I was struggling with the door.

"She already left, Miss Rori."

"What? I didn't even hear her."

"Elves are very light on their feet is all. She went to see if she could find some help." I frowned as I got ready to open the door.

"I don't think we will need it, I think I can get it open. Can you catch up to her?"

"Afraid not Miss, I am to wait here with you." I mentally groaned at the response I received. Great, just great. I didn't need that right now, it was embarrassing enough that I had to pretend to be locked in the bathroom. The door wasn't truly stuck either, well not for me anyways. With a light sigh I played with the door knob two more times before I opened the door. I swung it back towards me for dramatic effect, and it make it seem more believable.

"Oh I got it! Just had to mess with the knob a little." Vanya looked at me confused, she was about to say something when Eleniel's voice rang from down the hallway.

"Oh you got it open, sorry Lady Arwen, it appears we won't be needing your assistance after all." Eleniel apologized to the stunningly beautiful women next to her. The girl had dark brown hair, nearly black, with beautiful grey eyes. It actually looked like the same color that the clones had, only hers seemed to glow with happiness. Her skin was pale and flawless, it seemed to glow even in the white hall. She wore a long formal dress with loose sleeves, it fit her snuggly and showed off her slender figure. She looked back at me and offered a polite smile. It was not like I was interested in other women, but she was just otherworldly. I never seen someone who looked as beautiful as the woman coming my way now.

"I am relieved to see that our guest is not truly stuck, it would reflect badly on us. We will see to it that the door is inspected so it doesn't get stuck again." I felt incredibly awkward talking to her, she seemed so perfect that it made me feel a bit… Insecure maybe? It was rather uncomfortable to say the least. While she didn't appear to be mean or anything she just felt… Superior to me, and it made me want to disappear into the wall.

"Um, it's alright really. I wasn't bothered or anything, it um, it happens." I felt like I was stumbling over my sentences, unable to form a coherent enough one to really talk to her.

"But thank you, for coming to help me, Miss." If it was at all possible to sound stupider I managed it, her smile grew and for a moment I thought she might mock me like all the stereo type pretty girls. However her smile was softer and she just shook her head.

"I did what any other would have done. Furthermore you are a guest to my family. I will admit I was a little curious to meet you Rori. I heard it was my brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, whom found you while they were returning from their patrol. You are as lovely as they described." I almost choked on my spit when I heard her, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, call me lovely. Although I did find it a bit odd that her brothers, who I assume are the clones, said they thought I was pretty. I slept outside, after possibly swimming all night, with little to no sleep, and I should have looked like the walking dead. She seemed to notice my surprised expression because she spoke again.

"I am sorry if I have surprised you. However we must continue this conversation another time. I am afraid I must be off, I am leaving tonight with a few other elves to look for a few friends who may have lost their way. I hope I shall see you upon my return." With that she excused herself and continued down the hall. I stared at her returning form before I heard a woman clear her throat. When I refocused on the two… Elves, who were still with me I noticed it was Eleniel.

"Miss Rori, it is not decent to be standing out here in such a state of dress. We should get you into your room to properly dress you." I felt my cheeks flush a little and I nodded as I walked quickly into the room I was occupying for the time being, the two elves on my heels. When I walked in I really took in the room, I hadn't really taken the time before to look at it but now that I did I don't know how I didn't before. What I had thought was concrete flooring was actually marble like the bathroom. Ivory ran up the walls by the window, and yes it was an actual window. The room was mostly white and light hues of brown and green to decorate it. The bed was large and there was an end table next to it with a small candle. There was a small table as well towards the left of the room and a few feet away there was a large mirror with a small bowl of water in front of it on another but skinnier table. It was probably meant to clean your face and hands in the morning, but I would probably need to ask later. Finally my eyes landed on folded fabric that was placed on the bed. There was a light cream colored fabric and then a basil colored green fabric as well.

"We got you an underdress to wear and there is a green kirtle that matches your eyes Miss Rori. In the closet we provided you with two more dresses and two nightgowns. We will work on getting you more clothing Miss Rori." Eleniel spoke softly as she picked the fabric, which were dresses, off of the bed to show them to me.

"You don't need to go to all that trouble, it's alright really."

"None sense, you will need more dresses than that during your stay. It will be provided for you since you came in nothing but men's clothing. No bag, and lost here, it is no trouble." Once again I felt myself surprised at their kindness as well as guilty. It made me feel indebted to the people here and I wasn't entirely sure how to replay them. Unless they wanted some ice or fire or to have water moved, although they don't know about me so even then I couldn't do anything in return for them.

"Come on, I am sure you will look lovely in it." Vanya said. After that they helped me put on the layers of dress, they had me look in the mirror. The dress was pretty, and the green brought out my eyes and hair, at least I thought so. My hair fell down my back in the loose waves I had dried it in when I was drying myself in the bathroom. Eleniel looked pleased that it had fit me, and Vanya would occasionally look at her touch my hair. While I found her behavior lightly odd I didn't comment on it.

"The day is still young Miss Rori, would you like one of us to show you around? Or perhaps we can find someone who can if we are unable to." Eleniel asked, and I felt my stomach growl slightly. Eleniel giggled slightly and offered me a smile.

"Vanya and I will go get you something to eat, poor girl, you must be starving. Wait here." She motioned to Vanya and the two of them left my room. I walked over to the door to say thank you, but stopped cold when I heard Vanya speaking to Eleniel.

"Did you see her hair? It was dry." Vanya asked.

"Perhaps she kept it out of the water?" Eleniel responded.

"But it was cleaned, how could she have dried it so quickly?" Their voices faded as they walked out of the hallway and I just stood behind the door, stunned into silence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes:**

**Chapter 4, it has been a long time in waiting. I don't really have much time to write but I am trying to continue. I really like the idea of this story but considering that there aren't other ones like it (that I have found for that matter) it's hard to play with. I'm always open to suggestion, to things that you may have questions about. In the reviews or in the PM system you are always welcome to ask me things or to suggest story points you want me to come across. I want your feedback and I want to know what my readers want to see.**

**Regardless, I hope you will enjoy this chapter. I promise I will mellow out Rori sooner or later, she's still in a panic over most things though.**

Chapter 4

In their absence I paced back and forth in the light room. It never had occurred to me before that they might find some things I did rather unusual, well some of the weird occurrences anyways. The ice on the door had saved me, or else they would have been able to come in and see me like that. But the hair? It was so little of a thing I hadn't even considered it. There had been times in the past where I jumped into the ocean fully clothed and found people an hour or two later completely dry; as if nothing happened. Those people never questioned it so therefore I had never considered it, but now… They seemed to look into everything, all the small details. I would have to be careful from now on, that much I knew. I let out a sigh and sat down on the bed. The sun had gotten lower in the sky, although glancing outside I couldn't tell the time. There were no clocks around here either, none that I had seen anyways. My phone wasn't with me so that was out as well. Talk about a burden. It was summer, nearly autumn, so the sun sets were slowly coming earlier than eight o'clock, but the days were still longer than in the winter.

I felt antsy, I was worried that they might start telling other people and then there would be more attention on me. I needed to blend in more here; dress similarly, keep to myself, to fade into the background like a wallflower. That was what I always did, I hid myself away from everything and everyone, trying to blend into the background and become the white noise of everyone's lives. Never truly free to do what I please or what I wanted to, always trapped in this cycle. It all was because I was a mermaid now, a supposedly mythological nonexistent creature of the sea. Despite the cycle of lying and hiding there were things I loved about what I was. I could go places and see things unlike anything else, the ocean called to me and I loved to answer the call. As much as it pained me to be alone, or alone with my family, I didn't regret it. I didn't regret the times I had to hide away in my house to avoid the moon, or the loneliness that sometimes followed. I had long ago become accustomed to it. I could swim anywhere I wanted, see anything under the sea, so then… Why do I feel like a caged bird? Invisible chains clinging to my legs and keeping me trapped in a place so far from everyone, keeping me separate.

I swung my legs off the bed and hopped up onto my feet. I needed to clear my head, to think. I walked over to the window and looked down and out. Maybe there was a ledge I could sit on? I didn't really want to leave and then get lost. Besides… Eleniel and Vanya had asked me to stay put and after everything that they had done I didn't want to disrespect them by leaving. I was also rather hungry and I didn't want to miss out on a chance to eat as well. There was no glass to pull back in order to close the window so I was able to slip out with ease. With a sigh I leaned back against the part of the wall beside the window on the ledge and watched the clouds slowly move in the sky. The moisture in the air felt heavier and reminded me that it may be raining soon. Making my decision to stay on the ledge and not venture out continually more logical. My eyes focused on the moon that was present in the sky it was full but that was from the night before and for some reason it didn't affect me during the day, only at night when the moon was the highest in the sky. The full moon was last night so I should be fine until the next moon cycle. Unless, if I moved into different time zones then it might be tonight? I felt the color drain from my face at the mere thought.

"Miss Rori, may we enter?" I heard a girl's voice, it took a moment but it registered in my mind as Eleniel's voice. Which meant that Vanya was probably out there as well. I tried to take a calming breath and lightly smacked my cheeks with the intention to bring more color back to my face. Carefully I stood up on the ledge and climbed back through the window of my room and quietly planted my feet on the floor.

"You can come in, I don't mind." I answered her after a moment. I shifted my weight back and forth on my feet as the door opened and Eleniel gracefully entered the room holding a platter mixed with fruits and vegetables. And I mean platter, not plate, not bowl, a platter. Vanya came in after Eleniel did, and she held a smaller plate with what looked to be a wide array of cooked venison, salmon, tilapia, and an unidentified meat that I didn't recognize. I offered them a slight smile as Eleniel placed the platter down on the table, after she set that down she placed a smaller plate with some utensils for eating next to the platter. Vanya placed the plate of meat and fish down near the fruit platter and they both offered me slight smiles.

"Thank you, really, for all the trouble you have gone through for me. I appreciate your hospitality. If there is anything I can do to repay your kindness please let me know." I told them with a slight bow of my head, feeling catered on without a form of repayment felt uncomfortable. Vanya smiled at me as if I was a silly child and Eleniel shook her head.

"Lord Elrond and his family have invited you to stay until we can find out where you need to go. You were lost, and they don't expect anything in return from you Miss Rori." Eleniel told me while straightening out her dress.

"After you eat, we need to take measurements of you so we can get you dresses that will fit you better. Until then we will bring you some gowns that look to be close to your size. My daughter Raina is getting some of her older dresses for you to use until we have dresses that will be more suitable for you. You are quite thin, more so than most daughters of man that I have seen. So I believe Raina's dresses should fit you. If there are adjustments that need to be done we can of course make sure it's comfortable for you Miss Rori." Eleniel said politely, or as politely as she could. It didn't necessarily escape me that she claimed that not many "daughters of men" were thin, but I don't think she meant it in a negative way. She may have been complimenting me for being different? I wasn't entirely sure but her tone wasn't that of a snobbish woman or even trying to be negative. So I sort of found myself looking at the table somewhat uncomfortably as I got myself seated.

"Oh thank you. I um, I will try and get her clothes back to her as soon as possible."

"You should not worry about it Miss Rori. My daughter has outgrown those dresses and she is simply happy to be able to offer her assistance when she can." Eleniel smiled softly and I bit my lip. I didn't feel comfortable taking so much from them, but I couldn't really say no. Not only would that probably be considered rude but I needed to blend in more. It would be easier to blend into the background that way. The less attention on me the better.

"Thank you Eleniel, and thank you as well Vanya." My tone seemed soft even to my ears, it was a little surprising but it couldn't really be helped. People typically weren't just this kind to complete strangers and it had me both on edge and feeling slightly bad. It also made me think that I needed to pay it forward some way. Even if they wouldn't let me repay them, I should treat others in a similar matter. Show kindness and not ask for anything in return, simply be kind to those in need.

"Miss Rori, you seem quiet." Vanya stepped forward, it was odd to hear the concern in her voice but her face didn't betray any feelings. "Is the food not to your liking?" Vanya tilted her head to the side as she looked down at the assortment of meats, vegetables, and fruits.

"Oh no, it's not that at all." I quickly told her. "I was just thinking about what all you have done. It's… It's not something that I am used to." I tried to explain, but it felt like I was only confusing them more. I felt heat rise on the back of my neck and I tried to push the blush down and away from my face. "I was just thinking about it is all. You know, that if more people were like you all, kinder to those around them. Then the world would be better. It's an idea to pay it forward, to repay kindness with offering kindness to others who may need it." I admitted, it felt awkward to say it out loud. I started to think that maybe I should have kept it to myself rather than tell them about how I felt. The concept of "paying it forward" was something I learned about a while ago, and is it sad to say it was from a movie? Just a movie that I watched in a class maybe a month before I was homeschooled.

"That is a nice thought to have." Eleniel said, Vanya nodded in response to my comment as well as her friends', if they could be called friends. They seemed slightly close and I wasn't really sure. "If that is what you want to do then you should Miss Rori, but you should not fret on it now." Eleniel continued, she moved forward slightly and then hesitated before lightly patting my shoulder. Perhaps cautious in case I didn't approve of the gesture, or maybe just unsure about the contact in general.

"Right, u-um, thank you." I stuttered rather lamely. If the blush didn't win the battle to my face earlier it seemed like it did now. The whole situation was awkward enough anyways and despite the conversation ending on a seemingly okay note I still felt like I put my foot in my mouth. I picked up my fork, still under the watchful eye of Eleniel and Vanya. The air felt heavy with the undying awkward tension, or maybe it was just me? Neither of the two elves seemed bothered. After a few moments of silence I ate a few of the vegetables, and once they were pleased that I didn't seem disgruntled at the food chosen they began to leave. Anxiety swelled and spread through my entire torso as they started to leave.

"Ah, wait! Um, Eleniel?" They both stopped walking once I broke the silence. As much as I wanted to just curl into myself and disappear I needed answers to a specific situation. "Uh-um, I just… I was curious if you knew what the moon cycle would be tonight. If… It was a full moon tonight or if it already passed…" My tone faltered at the end, and I sort of just trailed off. Eleniel looked thoughtful for a moment.

"The moon? It was full last night, so no it should not be a full moon tonight." She looked at me and frowned just the tiniest bit. "Were you hoping to see it?" She asked.

"Oh, no, not at all. It was more just a curiosity. My family has this weird tradition. We stay in when the full moon is out, my mom was just superstitious." I quickly gave a rehearsed excuse, it was the same thing I told new friends who wanted to hang out with me. Not that there were many of them anyways, my old friends wouldn't have believed the excuse, and they too drifted away after contact became minimal.

"Then you should not concern yourself with it Miss Rori, the next full moon is many nights away. However if you are truly so concerned then we will tell you about the next full moon the night prior or the morning of, if you are still with us that is." Eleniel said with a smile and I just nodded.

"Thank you again, both of you, for being so kind." After that they both left the room. I massaged my temples and closed my eyes. What sort of situation did I get myself in? There was a river nearby so if I did swim here it was likely from that area. I could swim away from here, keep going until I find familiar waters. Almost instantly after I had that thought I mentally smacked myself for it, running away from the only people willing to assist me was stupid. Besides how long could I swim when I had no idea what was out there, it was unfamiliar territory and which direction would I even go?

"What am I going to do…?" My voice was barely above a whisper as I pulled my legs up on the chair and hugged my knees to my chest. I tried to think of what my mom would tell me to do in this situation. With a light snort I shook my head, she would tell me to be careful and to not start any fights or display weird behavior. My dad would tell me to avoid the water as much as possible, that if they see me disappearing in the rivers around this place, they might start getting suspicious. Then there was how they reacted to me initially, with weapons… They said that this was a "troubling time" so there was clearly something bad going on, but they never specified what it was exactly. What was happening where they would be carrying weapons, and would I truly be safe here? Probably not, they could turn on me at any moment. I shouldn't stay long, maybe a week or a little bit longer than that but no more, who knows what could happen and this nice act could be just that. How does someone go from pointing weapons at you to making you a guest in their town?

* * *

The next few days I tried to stay in my room, kept myself occupied and barely did anything involving water. I didn't want them to catch anything weird again, although I wasn't wearing my pajamas anymore. They gave me a few dresses that were fitted to my size, it fit like a glove but I always got nervous I'd get the dress dirty and ruin it. Maybe I could take one home as a memento? One that they wouldn't miss, and I could do it in secret, just jump into the river and go. My plans of keeping a dress was interrupted though, but a knock on my door.

"Miss Rori, we have some news for you." Vanya said through the wood and I quickly walked over to them, maybe they heard something about my home? Was there missing person reports that reached them? It was only a few days but there was always hope, right? When I opened the door they both had slight smiles, which wasn't very innocent looking or sweet like it usually was. Almost instantly I was on edge, their smiles made me think that maybe this news wouldn't be very great, or maybe that they decided that they wanted to kill me in some sacrificial fashion. Honestly, as soon as that thought made its way into my head I almost laughed, I don't think these two were the murdering type, and it would be off for there to be such a change in personality.

"You've been locked away in here so much, we thought perhaps someone should show you around. Staying indoors on such a beautiful day isn't good for your health Miss Rori." Vanya said with that smile still plastered onto her face. I nervously smoothed over the pale jade colored fabric of my dress. The fact that they said "someone" and not "we" didn't escape me and the thought of wondering around an unknown place with an unfamiliar person seemed even scarier than the initial "they might hurt me" thoughts, at least with these two I felt somewhat at ease.

"Someone? Will it not be one of you?" I asked and hoped they would call me silly for assuming it would be anyone else other than the two of them. However that didn't happen, instead Eleniel just nodded in response to my question. My stomach seemed to sink slightly at the non-verbal response, I was going to wonder around with a stranger…

"You're quite fortunate that they offered to show you around. They overheard us discussing that you have been keeping to yourself and seeing as they were the ones who brought you here it is only polite that they—" they… _There was more than _one_ person, and they were the ones that brought me here._ There were not very many options in that, there were only five people present when I was found out by the river a few days ago. "—Miss Rori? Are you listening?"

"Ah, I'm sorry Vanya, I was just… I was just thinking about who could be taking me around the town. You said that _they_ were the ones who brought me here… That only leaves a few candidates…" They both smiled again and I felt even more anxious. It was probably the woman with the ice colored eyes or the green eyed man from before, neither one seemed overly pleasant and I would rather not have another river scare like before.

"Yes, seeing as you are their guest," _shit. _"Elladan and Elrohir have decided that they would show you around. It was going to be Lady Arwen but she is rather preoccupied." Eleniel said, she seemed to frown just the smallest bit at the mention of Arwen being preoccupied. But I wasn't really able to focus on that part, it was the fact that the clones were going to show me around.

"Oh, I don't know. I mean they must be busy right? They probably don't really have the time to do something like that, I don't want to trouble them like that. I'll just politely decline, after all there are probably better ways they would rather be spending their time." The words fumbled out of my mouth in a rushed mess. The nervousness clearly showing in my voice and body language as my fingers curled around the jade fabric; trying to force myself to calm down a little.

"It would be rather rude to decline their offer Miss Rori, especially when they sent us this way to inform you of their coming." Eleniel lightly scolded me, which sent a bit of a hidden message. For the past few days I have been saying that I wanted to make it up to them for their hospitality, and now that they want to spend any time at all around me I'm saying "no" or "I don't want to". Eleniel reminded me of my mother a little bit, they both had that way of sending clear hidden messages in very few words.

"Right, then I should make sure I'm ready for when they get here." My tone may have sounded slightly defeated, but if either one of the elves felt bad about it they didn't show it. If anything they seemed more pleased with my reluctant defeat on the matter.

"Lords Elladan and Elrohir will be here soon, it should only be a few minute wait Miss Rori. Luckily you're already properly dressed to leave your room." Eleniel spoke as she walked around me and lightly lifted my brunette hair in her hands. "I can tend to your hair to make it presentable, and Vanya will go retrieve slippers for you to walk in." As soon as Vanya's task was mentioned she was already leaving the room while pulling the door shut, which left me alone with Eleniel as she gently tugged at certain parts of my hair. Likely looking at the knots and natural curls to see what she would need to do my hair, in a short amount of time as well. I felt her start tugging my hair in different directions as she silently, as well as quickly, worked on my hair. Within minutes Vanya walked back into the room holding a pair of lightly faded brown leather slippers and smiled at me. I responded with a hesitant smile and resisted nodded my head at her, I didn't think Eleniel would appreciate me moving my head as she was attempting to deal with my hair.

"They should be here soon." Vanya spoke after a few minutes of silence, and I assume Eleniel nodded since she did not verbally respond to the other woman… erm... Elf.

"There, now your hair was been done." Eleniel said after another moment of silence, and it wasn't like a fairytale wedding updo, it was rather simplistic which I was grateful for. I didn't want to send the message that I was trying overly hard to get either of the clones' attention, and something drastically different than what I would normally do. The hair that usually framed my face was pulled back and mixed with other strands to form a braid going back behind my head, but the braid was only consistent of about a third of my hair, while the rest remained flowing down my back in small natural waves.

"Thank you, Eleniel, for doing my hair. I don't think I could have done it as nicely as you did, and thank you too Vanya, for getting me a pair of sho- slippers, I would rather not walk around barefoot." They both smiled at me, but it still put me on edge a little. The best way I could think to describe it was as if they were excited for something that has yet to happen, that they were waiting to see something or they knew something I did not. I tried not to let the anxiety settle in my stomach, the thought of not knowing or not understanding terrified me, it was like I was moonstruck. I didn't know what would happen during that time and this "walk" was beginning to feel the same way.

Minutes passed, and time seemed to slow as the anxiety built up in the pit of my stomach, it spread through my veins and my body felt cold as a result. Why? Why did I feel so anxious about this? It was just two guys showing me around unfamiliar scenery, this used to happen in school when you were new or when you moved into a new house. Maybe it was because I felt like an intruder on their way of life, or that these boys were more easily compared to as important celebrities. Their father owned this place, the entire land, and so what did that make them?

"Miss Rori," Eleniel interrupted my thoughts as she lightly took my hand, the one that was grasping onto the right sleeve of my dress, "You should not worry so much. It will be fine and the two Lords will not do anything to harm you. I know as warriors they can be intimidating but they are good, and you are their family's guest." Her motherly tone almost soothed me, but I still couldn't shake the nerves. Regardless, I nodded and gave her a light smile for the attempt, they always surprised me with their kindness.

"Thank you, I'm sure they're nice." As the words left my mouth there was a knock on the door.

**Notes:**

**Why are the twins showing her around? Well from what I understand about them from what I've read in other people's stories is that they're a bit mischievous, and so I'm sort of rolling with that idea. I mean they can be serious and they really hate orcs, but I think this makes them more fun.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:**

**I managed to get this chapter written rather quickly and I want to thank everyone who has reviewed. It helps with my writing and everyone offered good ideas and interesting thoughts so I thank you all. As always I hope you will enjoy this chapter and if you want to offer any feedback please feel free to do so.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or the idea of H20, only the OC and the story plot. Also the song(s) referenced in this chapter also do not belong to me.**

Chapter 5

Somehow I found myself walking between the two clones down a stone path away from the house we were staying in; if it could even be called a house, it reminded me more of a small palace or mansion. None of us really spoke much once they picked me up from my room, other than the polite "hello" and "thank you for agreeing to show me around" sort of comments. The silence was rather suffocating to me, but I couldn't think of what to say to either one of them, however neither of one them seemed bothered, in fact there was hardly any emotion shown at all. Were all elves this stoic? I wrecked my mind; trying desperately to find something to say to one of them, anything would suffice.

"You seem rather uneased," one of the clones suddenly spoke from my right side, and I craned my neck slightly to look up at him. There seemed to be a slight smirk on his face but it nearly vanished once I spotted it. "You aren't too nervous about walking with us are you Miss Rori?" He asked, and it almost reminded me of a flirtatious tone, but honestly I wasn't sure. Besides… They were too _pretty_ in a way, not to say they were this _masculine handsome_ entity. But they were pretty, in an unnatural way, an inhuman way, but it was not feminine pretty either.

"She seems rather speechless Elrohir, perhaps you made the right assumption." The other clone teased, the one who seemed to be Elladan considering how he addressed his look-a-like. I frowned slightly at the teasing, and crossed by arms and without even thinking I responded to them.

"Speechless? Hardly, and what's there to be nervous about? I mean I only met you once before and you held me at weapon point." I almost regretted saying that. On one hand, yes they did do that, but it also lead to me staying in their home as a guest after I was deemed as non-threatening. It did seem rather rude to suddenly bring up something like that. However, they also were teasing me and I couldn't exactly take back what I said. Regardless the regret seemed to be sinking in more than acceptance of what I said, but before I could even apologize they laughed.

"You have a bit of a bite for a human," One of them spoke, it was the right one, was it Elrohir? "However we should apologize for treating a young lady in such a manner, don't you agree Elladan?" he asked. Although he said he wanted to apologize for the behavior they didn't actually seem too sorry for it. Perhaps it was because there truly was something big, and therefore they felt like their actions were justified? In the long run I wasn't actually harmed by what they did, it was just a scary experience…

"Yes, I think you're right brother." Elladan agreed and they both smiled at me, which actually unnerved me more than it should have. I found myself quickening my pace so I wouldn't have to look at their smiling faces, it didn't do much for me though. They were able to effortlessly keep pace with my fast walking, probably because their legs were much longer than mine due to the height difference.

"That is really not necessary, it seems to me that there is something really bad happening around here. You guys had your own reasons for doing what you did, I mean you didn't actually shoot me. If you did that then maybe I wouldn't forgive you for it, but you did not, so you don't need to worry about it. It's fine." I grabbed the skirt of my dress to try and keep it from restricting the movement on my legs as I tried to walk faster without actually breaking out into a sprint.

"That's rather mature of you, considering how young you still are." I frowned at that comment, I had just turned eighteen; I was considered a young adult now. I may not have been in my twenties like they were but I wasn't some little kid.

"Thank you I guess. But it's not like I'm that much younger than you are—" they both began laughing and stopped walking. I frowned and stopped too. "What is so funny?" I asked.

"We apologize, it is just that it has been many years since someone has mistaken us for being so young." Elladan said happily, or at least I felt like his tone implied it. They said that I had mistaken them for being so young, so how old were they? Was it impolite to ask them about their age, I vaguely remember my mom saying it was rude to ask a woman her age, does it mean the same thing for men? If either one of them caught on to my curiosity they didn't comment on it, and for once I wished they would have. It would have made the internal battle easier.

"Oh… Um, well regardless of that… Where…." I was stumbling with my words and I could still hear the slight chuckles coming from their identical voices. In a way it sort of irked me. "Where are we going anyways? I thought you two were showing me around." It wasn't much of a question, it was more of a statement. We were walking away from their settlement, if anything we were headed to the area that I initially came from, outside of the mountain pass next to the river.

"We are showing you around, we figured it would be best to start with where the border of Imladris and then move inwards back to the village. It is why we wanted to start before the sun was at its' highest point, it may take some time and you will surely be hungry afterwards." One of the clones said, I wasn't really paying much attention to where the voice was coming from. It seemed rather practical I suppose, start far out and then move in so that by the time return it's easier to eat. However I wasn't sure I really believed them and they were certainly up to something… It made my hair stand on end.

The walk was long, it took a while before we got to the edge and then they showed me where the mountain pass was in case I chose to leave and how to recognize it to return. Although it was not recommended unless by chance it was them guarding the entrance or if I met and befriended all of the border guards, they mentioned that unknown intruders would have been shot on sight to ensure safety. Meaning that leaving was alright, but returning without an escort or without them knowing me was dangerous. It was good to know I suppose, I made a mental note not to leave until I was sure I could survive on my own or if I had a lead on how to return home.

"You shouldn't come out here alone, while we do keep the boarders very well protected you might run into an orc or a stray animal. It would be best to stay closer to the village for your own safety." Elladan said, I nodded slightly and tilted my head to the side in mild confusion.

"What is an orc?" It felt like a silly question after they didn't answer right away. Was it common knowledge? Like how this place was supposed to be common knowledge? When I looked back at them they had an identical look of anger, and at first my blood ran cold. Were they angry with me for asking them questions?

"They are vile creatures, ugly as well, and certainly not something you would want to come across. They are ruthless killers and with you being alone they would consider you an easy target. Try not to go off on your own, we would hate to have a guest die in such a way as we looked after you." By the end of the explanation, which left with chilled with goose bumps, they seemed to be joking slightly. Teasing me about being their guest, however I don't think that they really were joking at all. There was a certain seriousness in their voice about the matter, and I chose not to comment on it again.

"I see. I'll avoid them then." My voice was lighter than it was earlier, and now it felt like there was a slight tension forming as we continued to walk. They showed me a few farming areas as we moved closer to the village itself. They told me a little bit about them, that their mother left for a different land a while ago and that Arwen was their only sister. Conversation seemed to die off and for a while it was nice and quiet. It seems like it was not meant to last though, because before too long the clones started to talk again.

"Miss Rori have you recalled your memories on how you got here?" one of the clones asked. I turned to him with a bit of a confused look.

"Remembered? I haven't lost my memories—" well that wasn't entirely true, I don't remember being moonstruck. "Let me rephrase that, I don't recall how I got here. But I don't have amnesia, I remember who I am, where I am from, my family, and everything like that."

"Are you sure? I have never met a human who was so surprised by elves or did not know of Imladris as Rivendell." They seemed rather doubtful of my memory, which I scowled slightly at.

"I am positive, I haven't forgotten my past. I simply don't know where I am right now. Besides, you don't recognize my land either." I pointed out to them and I noticed the slight tension as a result. "There you see, so you are just as clueless as I am."

"We looked at the maps…" They trailed off, frowning at each other as they seemed to have a mental conversation. With a slight huff I looked at them and waited for them to continue. But to my surprise they didn't.

"You look tired," one of them said, although I lost track of which one was on my right and which was on my left. "Perhaps you should sit for a moment. You can find shade under the trees, we have to be excused for a moment." He said as they guided me into the gardens, I was actually sat down by them, literally. Which was a bit of an odd feeling, they both quickly excused themselves and walked away. With a sigh I sat with my back to my tree, I looked at the clouds. They were moving slowly in the sky and there were not very many of them around, so I doubted that it would rain today, which would be a relief. The last thing I needed was to get caught in a rainstorm.

Minutes passed and they had yet to return, with a slight sigh I got up from under the tree, sitting wasn't my idea anyways and I didn't want to get the dress dirty. Causing more trouble for them was not my idea of fun. I glanced around and bit my lip slightly, _should I go walk around? Or should I wait here for them to return? Well… They never said I had to stay there, and they did just leave me on the "tour" of their town. So I suppose I could go walk around myself. Stay in the garden._ I waited for a few more minutes and when no dark haired clones reappeared in the wild I started to walk away from the tree. There were not very many people—elves—out and about in the garden and I started to lightly sing to myself.

"Lie with me underneath the tree, quietly and I feel so at ease." I started singing in a light hum before words began to form. I was doing it quietly since I didn't really want to attract too much attention to myself. Walking along the garden made me think of the song, it was by a group called Malumi and it was just comfortable. Maybe it was because it reminded me of singing at home, when my mom would be playing piano.

"Hold my hand and we'll walk by the stream. It's a spell and it feels like a dream." I ran my fingers over the petals of the flowers, the colors were bright and the garden almost felt alive, more so than it ever has at home. "Watch the stars fly over the night sky, wait for the sunrise over the dark." I unconsciously started to sing a little bit louder, but once I realized it I quickly quieted myself again. It was sort of hard to try to stay in tune when I was trying not to sing above a whisper.

"And your cheek smells musky and sweet, I swallow defeat and listen to your heart. And it beats boom da boom, da boom, boom da boom, da boom." I couldn't help but smile to myself a little, slowly I felt more at ease, like I wasn't lost. I thought of Malumi's music video and I almost giggled as I sang, the flowers seemed to fit, now all there needed to be was a happy couple walking around the garden too. I closed my eyes and started to hum more of the lyrics, humming the "boom da boom" the "ohs".

"Your voice is rather lovely, I haven't heard that song before." Someone voiced from behind me, heat rose to my face rather quickly and I instantly spun around in surprise. The dress tangled around my legs a little and almost managed to make me trip, luckily I managed to keep myself from tumbling over. The clones stood there, looking at me with smiles on their faces, although it seemed less teasing at the moment.

"You were not waiting under the tree, we thought we ought to come looking for you." One of them, I'm not sure which one, mentioned. "It was not too difficult of a task though, we only had to follow the sound of singing." He continued to speak, making it sound nonchalant. I didn't fully buy it though…

"Heard me sing? How… I wasn't singing that loudly where you should just be able to follow the sound of it. I could have sworn I was being rather quiet." I looked at them with crossed arms, and they both looked at each other for a moment. Again, I thought they were about to make an excuse, maybe say something that I "didn't know what quiet was" or just admit to stalking me or finding me by chance, but to my surprise that wasn't it at all.

"Sometimes we forget that you do not know much about elven kind. I suppose you could say that we have better senses than humans. We can see farther as well as hear better than humans usually are able to. So while your singing may not have been picked up with human ears, we were able to hear it." One of them explained, and the heat seemed to burn harder on my face. If they weren't pulling my leg, and I don't think they were because of how sincere they sounded, does that mean that everyone who was near the gardens could hear me singing? I flushed in embarrassment. I never had to worry about any of this before but now I couldn't even sing without them noticing it. I wanted to just bury my head in the sand, I wanted to just disappear into the background.

"You don't need to be embarrassed," one of them said as they took a step closer to me. "You truly do have a lovely singing voice, it was not like it was unpleasant to hear." They tried to reassure me but it wasn't really helping. Why were they all so aware of absolutely everything? I just wanted some time to myself. I wanted to be able to get away for a little while, to swim and not be seen, to be alone for five minutes without someone a few feet away listening and watching! I just wanted a minute where I wasn't hiding, where I wasn't trying to disappear, where I could just be me!

"C-Can we just continue and finish the tour. I would like to go back to the room before the sunsets." My tone held a bit of sharpness to it, I felt exhausted, and it wasn't in the sense of feeling physically tired but that I needed a mental break. I needed time to collect my thoughts and just sit down for a few minutes.

"If you would like to then we may, but we brought something for you to see. We…" he hesitated slightly as he spoke, like he wasn't sure how to go about it. "We thought that it may be easier to explain if you could see it as well. It may help you cope." His face become void of emotion again, almost like a defense mechanism… Which made me worried, the exhaustion seemed to disappear for a moment and it was replaced with anxiety. What was it? Was it a newspaper about my disappearance? Was I not reported missing or was I reported dead? The two elves crouched down slightly as they took a large and rather worn looking paper and rolled it out on the grass.

It took me a minute to even realize what I was looking at. The paper was yellowed with age and there were faint signs of wrinkles, but otherwise it was rather well taken care of. There was inked wording on the paper, which I was happy to recognize as a form of English, although this looked older than what I was used to. As I followed the delicate lines with my eyes it became obvious that this was a map, there were places listed that I never heard of before; Gondor, Rohan, Dunland, and all of it. The rivers the seas it was all unfamiliar.

"What is this? I… I don't recognize anything." I looked over the map, I wasn't the best at world geography but I made a note to recognize all the seas, what was this? Sea of Rhûn? The Sundering Seas? None of it made any sense, how was I supposed to go home? I felt sick…

"We did not see anything on our maps relating to where you claim to come from Miss Rori. If you are concerned about telling us where you are from that is alright, but we can't help you if you are not honest." They reminded me of when my father scolded me, like I gave them the wrong directions.

"I am not lying, I am from Louisiana in the United States of America. I have nothing to gain from lying to you. I just want to go home. My parents are probably worried sick and I have no way of contacting them, to tell them that I'm okay." I could feel myself getting louder bit by bit, getting angrier at them. It wasn't their fault, and deep down I knew that, but it still upset me. They were calling me a liar about that, as if I was lying about where I came from; and that pushed me a bit too far. "I wouldn't lie about that!" _I wouldn't lie about trying to get home… I wouldn't stay here longer than necessary._

"We only needed to make sure. We do not mean to offend you, but we need to know that you are being honest with us, otherwise we cannot offer true help to you." They continued talking in an even tone, not upset or anything. Untouched by what was upsetting me, and it only pushed me farther. Could they act like humans for once? Couldn't they show some sort of emotion that wasn't teasing? They sounded so matter of fact…

"I want to go back. I'm not hungry either so you don't need to worry about that. Just show me how to get back to the room." I moved backwards away from the map. They followed my wish silently, by now there was clear tension in the air. I walked back to the room I was staying in and gave them a curt "goodbye" before shutting myself in. I sat with my legs pulled to my chest and tried to think about everything. If the seas were truly so different there was only really one way to find out for sure. However I would have to wait until night fell.

* * *

The hours ticked by, and even when it was Eleniel and Vanya who came to check on me, to offer me food yet I found myself declining it all. It started to sink in more and more that I was that far from home, or that they were lying about where we were. That they intended to hold me hostage and brainwash me into their cult, but even I started to think that it likely wasn't anything like that. It was more likely that I swam somewhere isolated… As night came upon me I climbed out of the window carefully. I tried to remind myself to be quiet, because they had superman hearing and I didn't want to get caught. I wasn't far from the ground and so I tried to land on my feet as quietly as possible before moving out towards the river that ran through the town.

There were a surprising lack of elves walking around, in fact most the ones that I briefly saw were in the main palace/mansion of the Lord who owned the land. They seemed to be rushing around over something, but I was not really sure over what it was, and at the moment I did not care. I made my way to the river and looked around, making sure no one was nearby. On some level I think I knew that this was a bad idea, considering how closely they have been watching me, but the other side of me was craving to go swim. I needed the break and nothing helped like a dip in the ocean, maybe it was the mermaid in me begging to go swim, after all it has been over a week sense I last was able to go into the ocean. I had already talked myself into it, told myself that it would be okay. _They were already preoccupied as it was, it was now or never, and no one was around. Just do it, just go in and swim away._ It was all the convincing I needed before I submerged myself in the water.

A familiar tingling ran over my skin as the water shifted over me as I started through the water, it wasn't too terribly deep which was a bit unfortunate but it wasn't too shallow either. It was at four feet deep and as long as I stuck to the bottom of the bank I might be unnoticed by those who were not too close to the river. I wasted no time swimming out, moving quickly while trying not to cause the water to shift too much I moved across the river and to my pleasure it began to get deeper and deeper. The water was sparkling clear and I could see fish moving around and getting out of my way as I moved downstream. The pebbles in the river were smooth and I smiled as I swam faster and let the current pull me quicker and closer to the sea. Soon I was deposited into the dark waters of the ocean, the moon lit up some areas of the water but overall it was dark and a little hard to see the areas that were not lit by the moon.

It was deep inside my chest that I felt myself being drawn out deeper into the waters. The moon occasionally causing the orange scales on my tail to glow. Gliding through the waters I twisted and turned as I looked around. The depths of the water was blacked out, but the water was also clear, not at all murky. If I were to do this during the day I imagine I would be able to see farther down, small fish swam around me and I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the sight. This was what made it worth being what I became, nothing felt more alive than being in the ocean. Land didn't feel entirely like home anymore, it was this place in this water, the oceans called to me and for a while it was all I needed.

I don't know how long I swam for, or when I started to feel the hair on my arms stand on end. I broke through the surface to regather air for the fifth time when I noticed it. I didn't feel alone, like I was being watched by someone or something. The waters were dark and only the moon held any light for me. I stared up at bright light in the sky, at the no longer full moon and it was almost like a whisper. I was being told to return, to go back before I was too late. My instincts screamed at me and quickly I submerged back into the dark waters. My eyes scanned the waters but I could not see much, but something moved beneath me, moving and gliding through the waters. Bubbles surrounded me and I shot through the water faster than whatever was beneath me at the time. Moving in a Jetstream I went back the same way I came and re-entered the same river I left in. By now the moon had moved across the sky quite a bit, signaling to me that hours must have passed.

As the water became shallower I slowly my swimming pace and careful moved across the river. Before I never considered how I was going to resurface, how I would do so without being seen by anyone, I was too anxious to get away from everything that I never considered how I could get out of the water. Carefully I resurfaced, barely moving above the water to look out at the land. There were still not many people around, but the palace was lit up. I would have to act fast, try to find a spot with some cover to dry myself, perhaps some shrubbery. My eyes scanned the area and carefully I moved closer and closer to where some greenery moved over the river and pulled myself out of the water. My dark hair clung to my arms as I pulled myself into a bush and rolled onto my back, then carefully I pulled my tail from the water and laid out on the grass.

After a moment of catching my breath I moved my hand above my tail and started to slowly close it in a claw like fashion. Steam began to raise from my tail as I dried it off, and within minutes I was back in my green dress. I forced myself to stand up and get out of the bush and brushed myself off. I looked around until I spotted a small bridge that I could use in order to cross the river. I held the ends of my skirt and ran over to the bridge and sprinted across, hoping to get back to my room without being too terribly noticeable. I did not get very far before two women blocked my path, I was only a couple meters from the window. Both of them had their arms crossed and I flinched slightly at the hardened look on their faces.

"Where have you been Miss Rori? We came to check on you and hour ago and you were nowhere to be found!"

"I'm sorry Eleniel, Vanya, I didn't mean any harm. I just… I needed to clear my head and gather my thoughts." I tried to explain, but both women looked upset regardless. "I was following the river, the water had a calming effect on me." I explained, but their faces still did not change. However they did unfold their arms and moved to my side.

"It cannot be changed now, but you must get to bed. Tomorrow you will be meeting the other guests of Lord Elrond." They said as they walked me the long way around to my room, the silence was uncomfortable and it made me feel uneased. Once we reached my room I turned and looked at them.

"I want to apologize, for causing you two to worry. I promise it was not my intention. It's just been hard adjusting and I…"

"I know, you are in a strange place and it must be overwhelming. You must exercise caution, these are dark times and a young woman walking alone at night may be seen as a target." Eleniel told me, she slightly patted my shoulder. "Regardless, tonight you need to rest. Goodnight Miss Rori." With that they both walked back down the hall as I walked back into my room and sat down on the bed.

**Note:**

**If anyone is curious about the song she was singing, it is Stars Fly by Malumi. You can look them up on youtube if you would like, I highly recommend it.**

** Taboo22: sorry I could not PM you, but your settings were turned off so I was unable to. I do like your suggestion and I think it is a reasonable thought, considering that they likely have never seen a Mermaid and they likely assume she is a daughter of the sea or at the least blessed by it. I will likely use that reaction should they ever discover her secret.**

** Georgiadaskalakix: in response to your question about the time line, and in case anyone else wanted clearification, this is set during the time that Arwen left Rivendell in search for Aragorn and the Hobbits and has brought Frodo back to be healed.**


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